DYER, Indiana — The University of Maryland Eastern Shore women's bowling team took the competition the distance at the Valpo Bowling Classic, but came just short of the tournament title.

The Hawks led the field of seven in Indiana through the first two days of the tournament, earning the top overall seed going into Sunday's championship bracket. However, UMES fell to eventual tournament champion Wisconsin-Whitewater in the first round, 4-1, before bouncing back in the second with a 4-1 win against tournament host Valparaiso.

UMES took Wisconsin-Whitewater to six in the championship matchup, but eventually fell 4-2 to wrap up a weekend in which the Hawks finished with a 7-4 record.

Despite the championship round loss, the Hawks led the entire tournament with a total pinfall of 12,072 through 66 games while averaging 182.9 per game. The team also went 3-1 each of the first two days, including the two highest match pinfall totals of the tournament with 1,011 in a win against Carroll University on Friday and 1,022 in a win against Wisconsin-Whitewater on Saturday.

Leading the way for the Hawks, Mariana Santos Rivero earned All-Tournament honors and was named the tournament's MVP with a total pinfall of 1,022, averaging 204.4 per game.

Brooke Driver was not far behind during her All-Tournament performance with a total pinfall of 971 with an average of 194.2 per game.

Mariane Almeida finished tied for 14th individually with a pin total of 891 while Gabriella Ochoa Hubbard (881) and Ara Pitts (816) finished 16th and 20th, respectively.

Coming off a tournament win the previous weekend, the Hawks move to 17-7 on the season with two more tournaments on the schedule for the semester.

UMES will next travel to Houston for the Track Kat Klash for a three-day tournament beginning on Nov. 1. For all Hawk bowling results, visit - https://umeshawksports.com/sports/womens-bowling/schedule